The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-02-02
trIne OF election and free agency; thos,
doctrines mix me all up" There was time
when was bothered about those things, but

have settled them in this way: have made
UP my mind that If love Christ and live all
honest and useful life I am elected to be
saved. and if do not love Christ and live
and all the theological institutions OF
the universe cannot make it any
different I once foated on that sea OF
sin and doubt farther out than the 276 pas
sengers on the fourteenth night when they
, threw the grain overheard: but heard or
the mercy Of God through Jesus Christ for
sinner and came in on that plank, and [
have been warming myself by the great
genial fire Of Gospel comfort and Gospel hope
for three decades.
] am talking with IN 'ther man about hfs
soul. He saws: 81 don't become Christian
because don't believe there IL any hell"
Ah! do You mott Do you believe that pso.
pie Of all beliefs aud OF no beliefs, Of good
morals and of had morals. 20 straight to
happy Heaven? Do the holy and the de-
bauched have the same distinction? In hall
way at midnight. the burglar meets the
houSe-owner, and they both fire and are
both wounded The burglar instantly dies.
The house owner suffers on for week AMI
expires Does the burglar stand at the gate
. OF Heaven to welcome in the house-owner
when he comes up, and say: 81 boat you
| whole weak into Heavenr DO the lihprtnes
and the debaucEed 90 amid the families of
I Heaven? wonder if Herod is on the banks
, of the River Of Life PLAYING with the chill
dren whom he massacred. wonder if Charles
Guiteau and John Wilkes Booth are in
glory shooting at a mark! 1 will not con-
! trovert til Sc thaories just now, but will say
in nnssing that for such q miserable and ter.
rifle Heaven l have no admiration. But
where is the Bible passage that says: BE
l'eve in perd;ticn and lie esaveds" Because all
are going to be saved according to yonr theory
arc you discharged from the duty of loving
and serving Jesus Christ? Because, accord
ing to your theory, all the others are going
ashore do, ycu refuse to 60 ashore? Because
you have different theories about chemistry,
about astronomy. about the atmosphere, do
YOU refuse action3 Because you have DIFF
ferent the?ry about light, do you refuse to
open your eyes? Because you have
different theory about atmosphere, do
you refuse to brcathe9 Beoause YOU
have a different th,ory about the stellar
system do you refuse to acknowledge the
North star? Because you have different
theory about religion, do you refuse to act!
IF you cannot come in on ship fashioned in
tho theological drydocks, come in on plank.
"Some on broken DiV.es OF the si''"-"
am talking with another man about his
soul. He says: ooh, don't believe in re-
vivals." Then. my brother, 20 to Your room,
10 k the door and all alone give your heart
to God and join s ,me church where the ther.
mometer never rises about fifty jim the shade!
"Rut 1 don't believe in baptism" Then
como into the Kingd, I'M of God without
it, and settle that ordinance afterward. "But
there are so many inconsistent professors OF
religion" Then come in, and by your eS-
ample show what professor ought to be:
"But don't believe in the Old Testament.
! Come in on the new. But 1 don't like the
book of Romans" Come on Matthew
T,,l,o fn
to Christ, whom you admit to be
the Savior, because you cannot believe every
thing, rakrs me think Of q man who, out in
tho Mediterranean hurricane, just off the
island of Meita, should refuse to 60 ashore
until he can get the whole ship fixed up.
until he can make up his mind where all
these loose planks belong. He says:
that windlass in the right place, and this
keel piece where it belongs, and all these
rores disentangled and this mast st up
when I get everything shipshape then I'll
come ashore. Why, I'm an old sailor for
forty years know all abnnt q, ship. and
when get the ship just right Pll come In
srs Hears is s nd he 0ss sy on haa p ana os
will drown out here il you wait til
you get that ship reconstructed. Better do
as am doing. I know nothing about a
ship. Inever saw one till got aboard that
one. I can't swim q stroke, but I am coming
in on this shivered timber" The man that
comes in on the plank is saved: The
man who stays out in the tfiing to
mend the, old ship is lost. Oh, my
brother, let your smashed up theology
20 to the bottom while you come in on .
splintered spar. 'Some on broken pieces OF
the ship" think-for ain not talking on
abstraction-there are thousand men in this
house this morning in just the mood and
mental condition that I am now s:eak-
ing of, and have been asked this
lust week over and over again about
this and about that and about the other, and
1 am told every day of my Life almost; 81
can't adopt the whole system of religion,
can't believe ell you believe and therefore
can't recome a Christian" so l arm speak
ing at q tremendous practicality--let ME
say, my brother, you will probably get
your difficulties settled the way Garibaldl,
the magnetic Italian, got his gardens made,
When the war broke out between Austria
rera, rough, uncultured island home. He
went forth with his sword to achieve the lib
Grafton of Sicily and Naples, and he gave
to 100000 Of people free, govern
ment under Victor Emanuel. After
two years absence in the war
Garibaldi came back to his island home and
as he approached it he found THAT Victor
fInhOuel dS lilttLSI VI SUI ~ lse LOU tIoehiDoo
the whole place. Trimmed shrubbery in
place of thorny jungle. Beautiful gardens
and terraces in place of barrenness; and in
stead of the old rookery where he once
lived there was picturesque mansion where
he passed the rest Of his days in
ease and luxury. Oh, my brother, come
under the standard Of our Victor Emanuel
and follow Him through thick and thin, and
fight His battles and endure His sacrifices,
and you will find that your heart has been
changed from jungle OF thorny sceptlclSm
into garden abloom with luxuriant joys
such as You never dreamed of-frora q
very Paradise Of God. I do not know how
your theory went to pieces. Perhaps your
father and mother started You on plank,
they having no religion that amounted to
much of their own. Or perhaps your parents
were too severe and rigid and cracked you
over the head with psalm book. Perhaps
you had business partner who was
member of the church aud he played on you
q very mean trick, and ever since you have
been disguised with religion. Perhaps you
have in|idel associat s who are every day
all at sea, and you think more Of what
you do not believe than Of what You
! do believe. In on, respect you are
like Lord Nelson, who wished in battle to
! disregard q certain signal, and he put hssea
! glass to his blind eye aud said: Il don't see
any signal that you speak Of" Oh, instead
of putting this field glass Of the gospel to
your blind eye and saying 81 cant see,"
put it to your other eye, the, eye
of faith, and You will see Christ,
and seeing Him, you see all. Whatever you
! believe or do 1t believe you certainly b.
lieve in vicarious suffering, for you see it
eyery day arOu I'd YOU in some shape. Last